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Best Weapon Against Honor Killers: Shame

The custom of dueling ended only when it became a matter of public dishonor. How the same approach can help the brutalized women of Pakistan.

By

Kwame Anthony Appiah

Updated Sept. 25, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

Honor has a lot to answer for. Consider the thousand or so women in Pakistan who are murdered each year by relatives in the name of family honor. These murders are not endorsed by the state of Pakistan. They are illegal. Nor do they have the sanction of Islam. Any number of Islamic scholars, mullahs and ayatollahs have declared honor killings to be contrary to their religion.

Alas, it is not uncommon for honor to trump even the combined might of morality, law and religion. Many abhorrent customs, from slavery to suttee,...